Ann Carr's Blog (24)

Howdy y'all - So here, north of the Sangre de Christo Mountains. I have found myself working in the west again. Sorry to say, I haven't kept up with my friends and acquaintances through Coolworks, but I keep telling everyone where to find a job working seasonally. Good luck to all on the upcoming season. Seasonal government job will be hard to find this year, but - keep on trucking!

Home, home again once more in Texas... The Mat Sinking Unit was great and I did earn allot of money for the past season (310 hours of OT), but I am so glad to be home once more on Texas soil - Galveston! I hope all of you have a great season and someday soon, I will join in again.

Hey Kari, I need a new patch... old car got totaled and it went with it.

My job at the Corps of Engineers W.G. Huxtable Pumping Plant is ending and my office on top of the river bridge is a changing. My new job will actually be on the Mississippi River on board with the Corps of Engineers Mat Sinking Unit. This will put me on the river from 3 to six months. If interested, look up Managing the Mississippi on YouTube.

So I don't feel left out as all of my seasonal friends head off to their new jobs. Happy season y'all. See you on the…

I've accepted a permanent GS/5-2 position with the Corps of Engineers in Arkansas. Hard to believe that it was only two years ago that I left Arkansas' White River NWR, and now, I'm headed back that direction. Guess I'm not a very good seasonal employee after all.

For those I've made friends with here... God bless you and I'll keep an out... hard to resist that migration call even when you get everything you want.

It is funny to think that for the past several years, I have heard the call of migration of seasonal work when I've been sitting at my desk watching the ducks and gees flying overhead. Now, I can join for the coming year and I find my heart is singing with excitement. Where to go? what to choose? should I go back into desk sitting, or drive a big old coach, or choose something different? I think I'm just happy to know that when people start heading out to the various places, I will be…

Well I've been following my instincts by applying for job with the Federal Government again. I was once told that if you did not have a degree, the chances of being hired as a park ranger were almost nill. Today, I received my 10th referral for a position as a seasonal ranger and this time at Mesa Verde... now if they will only hurry up and hire me.... lol.

Whoa - guess that would eventually happen. Glacier National Park under Glacier Park Inc. was my first seasonal job and got me moving in all kinds of directions. Ten years later and I was looking to see what jobs were available for GPI, Inc. there were none listed and I couldn't figure out why and now I know. So, I applied for one of the Red Bus Driver jobs... cross my fingers and hope I get a call, like real soon!

Christmas in Texas - how I use to want to be home in Texas when I was living somewhere else... Been home since September and my left foot is getting itchy to travel once again. Got that Class B CDL to drive a tour bus, but it seems the tour bus company I drove for during the summer doesn't want me any more... hmmm - maybe it is time to change professions and become a truck driver with a Class A.... onward TexasAnnie (sung to Onward Christian Soldiers).....

After 3800 miles and five days of driving, I'm home again in Texas after spending a season working in Ketchikan, AK. I must say, my job was fabalous - I do have reservations concerning my employer, however, I will just leave it at that. I loved driving my coach over the 32 miles of paved highway and leading tours in two different places. The guests were great! Amazing how many new friends you can make in such a short time.

So on my bucket list was a job in Alaska. Got said job and have been enjoying it alot. However, i did not sign up for a roommate that snoores like a freight train or having the bed/room right next to the kitchen. Driver Guides are naturally loud and do not recognize their voice carries easily. They also forgot to use their inside voice and that cooking at 4:00 am will awake the sleeping bear (me) because they are slamming cabinet doors and banging pots and pans. What were they thinking?…

When I came home to Texas last September, I vowed I would be out with a seasonal job for 2013. So, I waited and started applying early to those positions I thought would interest me. This evening, one of those applications paid off and now I'm headed to Ketchican, AK very soon for training and then a summer of adventure.

I've been home in Texas now for three months and I'm ready to leave again... lol. Always thought if I got home to Texas, I would stay put for a while. My left foot is itching though and thoughts of migrating with the seasonal workers have started again... So, I've applied for jobs in Glacier, Yellowstone, Denali, Kennicott and even Arcadia. Guess you could say, I've been busy.

Anyway, today is Christmas Eve and I am loving having family close by. I'm looking forward though to…

In Jan 2005, I made a decision to step out with a wing and prayer and discover some of our national parks before I got to old. That first step led me to a job with Glacier National Park and six months of living pretty much on Going to the Sun Road. After that, I left for a another position at Big Bend National Park where I learned, you really can’t get to anywhere unless you drive 70 miles one way at 45 mph. And, if you drive a two wheel drive vehicle, it is probably a good idea if you do…

﻿Fall has begun its accent upon White River National Wildlife Refuge with the coloring of the leaves; hunters out and about with bows and arrows; the weather becoming more seasonable with lower temps and the smell of campfires. Of course, there are those of you who are migrating away from your seasonal jobs to somewhere else and already dreaming of where you will go next year. I hope all of you had a wonderfull season and I look forward to joining in the migration sometime in the…

Hard to believe that it was six years ago that I stepped out on a limb and took a seasonal job never dreaming where it would lead me. My dream as a youngster was to visit one of the National Parks and have a family vacation like what you saw on the TV. Unfortunately, that was not to be with my mom. She died before she ever got a chance to visit me when I lived in one too. During these past six years, I did manage to live in three National Parks and even did a stint on the Mississippi…

Many nights have come and gone since the last time I posted on here - Christmas last year I think. It has been a long journey to where I am now, but I am happy. I have a job I like, live on a national refuge with about 12,000 acres of ground and wildlife out my front door. Critter even likes it here. He has plenty of interesting smells and of course, there is a kitty in the house for him to drag around by its left ear.

A winter storm is blowing in from the northwest right now and we are expecting new snow before the morn. For the skiers and snowboarders that means new adventure for tomorrow - for me it means a warm fire, Critter, Cleo, Mowgli and Gizmo settling down for that warm winter's nap. somewhere in the vicinity of my feet.

This will be my last Christmas here but I am looking forward to warmer winds and a beautiful spring in the Texas Hill County - even… Continue

Well we are drawing close to another Thanksgiving - outside, there is snow on the The Grand and Mt. Moran... inside my apartment, turkey, stuffing and pie making supplies lay on the counter waiting for me to start making my last Thanksgiving meal in the Tetons. You see, the year round accounting functions for all accounting personnel is being moved to Vail. This simply means that come the last of January 2009, I won't be working here any more. Makes me wonder where I'll be next… Continue

The seasonal employees have left and I am having serious abandoment issues again.... I suppose it is the herd mentality popping up.. you know, the one where everyone is getting ready to go somewhere but you? hmmm.... Accounting is being centralized here and that means that I will soon enter a new world.. where? who knows. I've applied for jobs all over the country, but with the economy being what it is, I think the employers are hiring someone that lives within the area, instead of searching… Continue

As I was driving down Highway 89 the other day to Jackson, I saw an amazing sight. Something that I've not seen since August 2007... it was a golden belly marmot, commonly known as a Whistlepig. Now for those of you who have never seen a whistlepig or a gold belly marmot - this varmit looks like a cross between a prairie dog and a Texas Whampus Cat. Of course, the poor thing was starving as it was sitting on about three feet of snow and not a green blade of anything in site. I'm thinking it got… Continue